Sclerotherapy and Laser Vein Treatments

Millions of women and men are benefitting every day from Sclerotherapy and Laser Vein Treatments

sclerotherapy treatment before and after.

Do you suffer from unsightly spider veins or varicose veins?

Sclerotherapy and Laser Vein Therapy are great for those unwanted “road maps” that occur mostly on the face and legs.  Spider veins, or telangiectasias, are small veins that appear red, blue, or purple and sprawl across the skin.  Most of the time they appear on the face (around the nose and cheeks), on the thighs, or lower legs.  Spider veins have many origins including hormonal change, sun exposure, crossing of legs, sleeping in the wrong position, and the backup of blood due to illness or injury.

Varicose veins are much larger than spider veins and appear to bulge to the surface of the skin.  Many times they are around 1/4 inch in diameter.  They happen as a result of damage to the valves within the veins themselves. When blood is blocked by obstructions, the veins get bigger and then become varicose.  They may represent something more serious than spider veins and should be evaluated by a physician or vascular surgeon.

Vein Treatment before and after.


Sclerotherapy involves inserting a liquid chemical into the vein with a needle; it’s virtually painless. The process usually takes about 15-20 minutes. There is essentially no downtime required, so we should have you in and out in no time at all! We ask that you wear compression stockings on the treated vessel for at least 3 days as the scarring process is taking place. This will keep the blood flow from going back into the damaged vessel and reappearing as a new vein.

Shortly after the procedure, the vein will fade.  It may reappear later if the flow to the area is not occluded.  The same vein may require more attention, but most spider veins respond after one treatment.  If you have many spider veins, you will need more appointments to achieve the desired results. These are scheduled at 4-6 week intervals.

Vein laser treatments include two different modalities: broadband light (BBL), which is also called intense pulse light (IPL), and Nd:Yag laser therapy. Today’s lasers are safe and effective non-surgical treatment options for the removal of spider and varicose veins.  All of these lasers are used to shrink the vessel more gradually than sclerotherapy in many cases.  Additionally, we use these modalities for vessels that are not anatomically positioned for sclerotherapy.

What does it feel like?

During your treatment, light energy from the IPL or BBL is delivered through a hand held device.  Many say it feels like a rubber band pop.  The vessel absorbs the energy from the light based device and disappears.  The vessel contains the heat absorption, causing a coagulation of the blood vessel, which is then absorbed by your body. The surrounding tissue is not affected when the right settings are used, as the light laser is specific for that device.

Laser therapy should only be used in the hands of a trained laser physician due to the potential harm of the laser to the skin. Dr. Atkins is a trained professional on these devices. You can rest assured that you will be in good hands.  Over the years, we have seen many people that use this device to enhance the glow of their skin.

To start, the vein to be treated is identified.  Then a small amount of sclerosing liquid is inserted into the vessel with a micro-needle.  The agent causes the vessel to turn white and disappear.  Many say that they feel a burning sensation to the area.  It goes away quickly and most do not say that it’s more than slightly uncomfortable.

What is recovery like?

Vein treatments do not take long to perform, so you can resume your day-to-day activities soon thereafter.

Following your treatment, you will most likely be asked to wear support hose of 25mmHg to help keep pressure on the veins.  This will help keep the treated vessels closed so that they will disappear.  It is unlikely but sometimes bruising may occur.  A brown spot may linger for a few weeks, as this is blood that has extruded from the vessels and is harbored in the skin.

Things to avoid after your treatment include: hot baths, strenuous exercise, and hot saunas for at least 3 weeks.  All of these activities encourage the vessels to open back up.  Avoid aspirin before and after the treatment for better results.

Having said all of that, we want you to walk and resume normal activities immediately.  We like to see our patients do upper body exercise during this time period.

Most results are immediate but some may not appear for several months.

Are there any side effects of vein treatment?

Possible temporary side effects of sclerotherapy include red patches of skin and brown spots around the treated area, which is trapped hemosiderin from the red blood cell.

Possible rare and temporary side effects of vein laser treatment include redness and swelling of the skin.  Less often, you may see some slight discoloration of the skin where the vessel was located. These all will go away on their own.

We look forward to serving you and helping you achieve and start enjoying your perfect skin and body soon after treatment!


To find out if you are a candidate for Laser Vein Therapy or Sclerotherapy, call our office today, 678-213-2220 and schedule a consultation.